Tuesday, May 3, 2016

The following report from Times of India shows how difficult it is for consumers/customers to even expect fairness from such a "reputed" company belonging to the most respected business names in India. Not only Tata Motors did not take any action against its dealer but went on to fight a legal battle for 10 years with one of its own customer, who had just wanted to get a car which he had paid for (nothing more). Here is the full report.AHMEDABAD: A consumer court has pulled up Tata Motors Ltd and its city-based dealer Cargo Motors Pvt Ltd and fined them for fraudulently selling an used car to a customer as new.

While Tata Motors was held vicariously liable and asked to pay Rs1lakh to the customer, the dealer has been directed to return the price of the vehicle, Rs4.80 lakh, along with Rs60,000 towards compensation for harassment and litigation costs.In this case, Bhavnagar's Prashant Vyas purchased a Tata Indigo car in October 2006 from Cargo Motors outlet on SG Road. Within two months, Vyas found multiple problems in the vehicle and it was not starting at all. A local mechanic informed him that the car was a second-hand vehicle. He later found out that the car had been sold first to one Deepak Shah in May 2006.

Vyas filed a complaint with a local consumer forum, which ordered Cargo Motors and Tata Motors, together, to return the car's price to the customer apart from compensation and litigation costs. Tata Motors's appeal against this order was dismissed by Gujarat Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission with a fine of Rs 5,000.When Tata Motors challeng ed the lower courts' decisions, the National Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission (NCDRC) said that Tata Motors may not have been aware of the sale, but it was strange that the company was changing the engine of a vehicle on one hand and, on the other hand, claimed not to know for which vehicle the engine was being replaced."They (Tata) did not make an inquiry from the dealer as to why the dealer sold the vehicle for the second time. They did not take any action against the dealer.His agency was never cancelled. It is thus clear that the dealer and Tata Motors Ltd were working in cahoots with each other," the court order reads.The court further observed, "The action of both the parties is below the belt. They made an attempt to lead a gullible customer up the garden path. The consumer swallowed the bait and drove the car to such an extent without knowing it is a second-hand car."http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Tata-Motors-Cargo-Motors-fined-for-selling-new-used-car/articleshow/52101516.cms